


antebellum

by luminescent (pyrophane)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Festivals, Gen, Pre-Canon, Pre-Fusion Invasion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-02 16:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8675149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrophane/pseuds/luminescent
Summary: A moment above the lights.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reishiin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reishiin/gifts).



> hi Reishiin! i came across your 2015 arc v request and was delighted to find that we both love shun for the same reasons. thanks for letting me write this prompt, i hope you enjoy!
> 
> mirrored on tumblr [here](http://delineative.tumblr.com/post/155228279575/fic-antebellum).

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody remembered the reason at the core of it anymore, but Heartland City was nothing if not amenable to a good festival, and so the streets were festooned with lights by the thousands, people converging upon the city centre where kitschy wooden stalls had been set up the day prior, vendors hawking anything from cones of freshly-roasted chestnuts to glowsticks that could change colour or play tinny, looped snatches of the latest pop songs at the press of a button. To be honest, the novelty had long worn off, and Shun wouldn't have gone if Ruri and Yuuto hadn't dragged him bodily out of the house come sundown under the reasoning that even the most conscientious of students—which Shun was admittedly not—needed a night out every now and again, and what better night than the city's annual midwinter light festival? So the three of them made their way down, Ruri hopping from bridge to bridge with a nonchalance that made Shun's stomach lurch, but before he could voice his brotherly disapproval Ruri let out a wordless exclamation and skidded to a stop.  
  
_Wait, wait—_ Ruri pressed her hands to the railing, leaned forward. _Look at the city!_  
  
_We're gonna miss all the fun if you guys don't hurry up_ , Yuuto called over his shoulder, a few steps ahead of them, but neither he nor Shun had ever been able to refuse Ruri anything, least of all the openhearted wonder spilling across her face as she shielded her eyes and peered down at the city below. Pinpoints of light strung together in firefly constellations; if Shun let his eyes slip partly shut they softened into a muted golden haze haloing the outline of Ruri's figure against the bridge. He slid his gaze to Yuuto, who grinned, hands shoved in his pockets, lit up by the clean bright arc of a nearby floodlamp. Shun felt a slight answering smile tug at the corners of his lips. Together they turned to watch Ruri watching the lights. Eyes fixed, as always, on what lay ahead.  
  
_You'll get a better view when we're actually there, you know,_ Shun said.  
  
_Yeah?_ Ruri challenged _. Wanna duel and see who's right?_  
  
_Think you can beat your big brother?_ Shun said, and reached out to muss Ruri's hair even as she ducked out from beneath his hand and seized his arm instead.  
  
Years later he'd look down upon another city wreathed in lights from behind dizzyingly panoramic glass fifty floors up, seething at its soft and whole heart, Akaba Reiji's even gaze settling over the back of his neck like a cupped hand. But for now there was only Yuuto mid-pivot and glancing back at him, caught in the fishbowl curve of the floodlamp, and Ruri, fingers at the crook of Shun's elbow, saying _don't be so sure you'll be able to win once I'm older_ , and the night stretching out before them, echoes of music and light blurring together somewhere in the distance; interminable, immeasurable, invincible.

 

 

 

 


End file.
